Flexible Bracelets

A flexible bangle is a gold bracelet that opens at a hinge or bends on an internal wire, so it goes on around the wrist instead of over the hand. A rigid bangle has to clear the widest part of your hand, which forces it to be larger than your wrist. A flexible one can be sized to the wrist itself.

Most close with a snap lock, a small tongue that clicks into a hidden catch under the band. Others hold by tension, where the wire keeps its shape and grips the wrist with no clasp at all. Both are secure for daily wear. Ask the team to open and close a piece for you before you choose, because the feel differs design to design.

Most people find it is, because the band can be sized close to the wrist. That means less sliding down onto the hand and less clatter against a desk or a keyboard. A rigid bangle moves more freely and makes the sound some people want. It comes down to whether you want the bracelet to stay put or to move.

In most cases, yes. A hinged bangle can have a section removed to bring the diameter down, and a wire bangle can often be adjusted at the bench. Diamond-set bands are the harder case, because the stones run continuously and the setting has to be reworked. Ask the team to look at the closure and the stone line first, because those two decide how much a piece can move.